Cultivating-machine.



D. H. ABBOTT.

OULTIVATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.19, 1909.

962,288. Patented June 21, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

52027 1% Mgff UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IDELON H. ABBOTT, OF VANIDEMERE, NORTH CAROLINA.

CULTIVATING-MAGHINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DELON H. ABBOTT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Vandemere, in the county of Pamlico and State of NorthCarolina, have invented new and useful Improvements inCultivating-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to agricultural implements and more particularlyto machines for cultivating the soil by stirring and agitating the soiladjacent to rows of growing plants straddled by the machine by theprocess generally known as cultivating.

One object of the present invention is to construct a cultivatingmachine which shall be supported upon and which may be successfullyoperated by a tractor of simple and improved construction.

A further object is to provide a cultivating machine of the characterdescribed which will not require to be turned at the end of each row,but which may be operatively propelled in two directions.

A still further object of the invention is to equip a machine of thecharacter described with forwardly and rearwardly extending implementcarrying beams which shall be supported upon an oscillatory member insuch a manner that when one beam or set of beams is depressed to anengaging position, the oppositely extending beam or set of beams shallbe raised to an inoperative position.

Still further objects of the invention are to simplify and improve thegeneral construction and operation of a machine of the characterdescribed.

YVith these and other ends in view which will readily appear as thenature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in theimproved construction and novel arrangement and combination of partswhich will be hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed outin the claim.

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferredform of the invention; it being however understood that no limitation isnecessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited,but that changes, alterations and modifications within the scope of theinvention may be resorted to when desired.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevation of acultivating machineconstructed in accordance with the lnventlon. Fig. 2 1s a Specificationof Letters Patent.

Application filed August 19, 1909.

Patented June 21, 1910.

Serial No. 513,581.

top plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a perspective detail viewillustrating the steering gear.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are denoted by likecharacters of reference.

The bed or platform 5 of the improved machine is mounted upon archedfront and rear axles designated respectively by 6 and 7; the front axle6 being pivotally mounted for steering purposes as upon a king-bolt 8.Tractor wheels 9 are mounted for rotation upon the spindles of the rearaxle, and transporting wheels 10 of ordinary construction are similarlymounted upon the spindles of the front axle.

Supported upon the bed of the machine is a motor M of any suitableapproved construction, such as a gasolene or other internal combustionengine; the driven main shaft 11 of said motor carries a fly wheel 12and a sprocket wheel 13 which is connected by a chain 14 with a sprocketwheel 15 upon a countershaft 16 supported in bearings 17. Ihe shaft 16carries an additional sprocket wheel 18 and a pinion 19 both of whichare fixed upon the shaft for rotation therewith. A second auxiliary orcountershaft 20 which is supported in bearings 21 carries a loose gearwheel 22 meshing with the pinion 19 and a loose sprocket wheel 23 whichis connected by a chain 2st with the sprocket wheel 18. The hubs 22, 23of the wheels 22 and 23 are cupped to form members of a friction clutch,the movable member of which 2 1 is slidably mounted upon the shaft 20for rotation therewith, intermediate the said hubs, with either of whichit may be placed in operative engagement by means of a shipping lever Lconsisting of abell crank, one arm of which 25 has a terminal fork 26engaging an annular groove in the clutch member either directly or bymeans of pins or a11tifriction members of usual well-known construction;the other arm 27 of the shipping lever or bell crank is con nected by alink 28 with a hand lever 29 fulcrumed upon a lever stand 30 including asegment rack 31 adapted to be engaged in the usual manner by a stopmember upon the lever which thus, together with the parts controlledthereby, may be secured at various adjustments. It is obvious that bythis mechanism the clutch member 2a may be shifted to engage the hub ofeither the gear wheel 22 or the sprocket wheel 23, thereby reversing thedirection of rotation of the shaft 20; it is likewise obvious that whenthe clutch member occupies a position intermediate the hubs of saidwheels, the shaft 20 will remain stationary, and the shaft 16 Wlllrotate idly with reference to the sprocket wheel 18 and the pinion. 19.

A shaft 32 supported in bearings 33 adjacent to the sides of the bed orplatform carries a compensating gearing, the caslng G of which only isshown, since the detalled construction of said compensating gear is nota part of the present invention; the casing C however is peripherallytoothed as shown at 34 to constitute a sprocket wheel which is connectedby a chain 35 with a sprocket pinion 36 upon the shaft 20. The shaft 32is terminally provided with sprocket wheels 37 connected by chains 38with sprocket wheels 39 that are suitably connected with the tractorwheels 9 to which motion may thus be transmitted from the source ofpower, it being readily understood that turning and other evolutions ofthe ma chine are permitted by the presence of a compensating gear.

The front axle 6 is provided with a rear wardly extending arm 40constituting a crank whereby the axle may be rotated about the axis ofthe king-bolt.

A vertical shaft 41 supported in suitable bearings near the rear end ofthe bed or platform of the machine carries at its upper end a hand wheel42 and adjacent to its lower end a sprocket pinion 43. A chain 44engaging said sprocket pinion is terminally connected with the ends of aflexible element 45, such as a rope or cable which is guided oversuitably disposed pulleys 46, 46, and which is securely connectedintermediate its ends with the arm or crank 40.

It will be seen that by manipulating the shaft 41 by the hand wheel 42the axle 6 may be rotated about the king-bolt for the purpose ofsteering the machine.

A seat 47 for the driver or operator is disposed in suitable proximityto the steering wheel and to the reversing lever 29.

Secured upon the under side of the bed of the machine adjacent to eachside is a bracket 48 serving to support an oscillatory member 49 whichis mounted for rotation upon a pin or shaft 50, the latter beingdisposed transversely of the bed or platform and approximately parallelto the rear axle and in a plane considerably above the plane of thewheel carrying spindles of said axle. Implement carrying beams 51 and 52extending respectively in a rearward and in a forward direction, aresecurely connected with the oscillatory member 49, said beams havingterminal standards and earth engaging implements, such as cultivatorblades or shovels 53 which are faced in opposite directions, and securedupon the standards of the beams in such relative position that when theimplement connected with one beam is depressed to an earth engagingposition, as shown in Fig. 1, the implement carried by the oppositelyextending beam will be elevated to an inoperative position, as will bebest seen by reference to Fig. 1 of the drawings, while at anintermediate position, the implements of both beams will be carried at asufiicient distance above the ground to avoid engaging the latter, thusfacilitating transportation from one place to another. Adjustment of theimplement carrying beams may be effected by means of hand levers 54pivoted upon rack segments 55 and having arms 56 that are connected bymeans of links 57 with the rearward extending beams 51; said hand leversbeing provided with the customary stop members to engage the segmentracks for the purpose of securing the parts in adjusted position. Underthe construction illustrated in the drawings each pair or set ofimplement carrying beams 51, 52 may be independently adjusted, but theseveral sets of beams may be connected for simultaneous adjustment aswill be readily understood. It is also evident that any desired numberof sets of implement carrying beams may be carried by the machine bysimply changing the dimensions of the latter.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the drawingsherein annexed the operation and advantages of this invention will bereadily understood by those skilled in the art to which it appertains.

Assuming that a row of plants is to be operated upon, said row of plantsis straddled by the arched axles of the machine which is then propelled,one set of cultivating implements having been previously depressed to anearth engaging position, thus stirring and agitating the soil andthrowing the loose soil in the direction of the plants in the usualmanner, the operation being easily and efficiently performed owing tothe disposition of the axis of the oscillatory element carrying thecultivator beams in a plane above the wheel carrying spindles. When theother end of the row is reached the machine is manipulated, withoutturning it, to aline it with the next row after which the implementswhich were temporarily placed in an inoperative position, are readjustedto place those which were previously inoperative in an earth engagingposition, after which the machine is propelled in a reverse direction,thus avoiding turning of the machine and enabling the same to bemanipulated in much less space than would be otherwise required.

It will be understood that the implement carrying beams may be adjustably connected with the oscillatory member 49, and that other changesof a merely mechanical nature may be made without departing from thespirit of the invention. Thus for instance, the steering arm 40 might beomitted and instead of the flexible member 45 two such members wouldthen be employed, the same being terminally connected at their rear endsdirect to the axle 6, adjacent to the ends of the latter, and adjacentto their front ends with the chain 4.4; by such an arrangement the guidepulleys 46 might be dispensed with; but inasmuch as such a constructionwould lie within the province of the skilled mechanic, it has not beendeemed necessary to particularly illustrate the same.

I am aware that plows for side hill and other work have been heretoforeconstructed in which a pair of plows faced in opposite directions havebeen supported by a motor driven platform. I am not aware however, thata straddle row cultivating machine has heretofore been constructed, thesame being equipped with arched axles having carrying wheels andsupporting a motor driven platform upon which oppositely extendingcultivator beams having oppositely faced blades or shovels, aresupported together with means for adjusting the same for work. I amlikewise not aware that a machine of this class has been constructed inwhich the oppositely extending beams are connected with a membersupported for oscillation in a plane above the spindles of the carryingwheels.

By these and other features of construction a machine is produced whichis exceptionally effective and useful for the purpose of cultivatinggrowing crops without necessity for turning the machine around at theend of each row as will be readily understood from the foregoingdescription.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed, is

In a machine of the class described, a platform, arched axles supportingthe same and having wheel carrying spindles, propulsion means includinga motor and reversing gear, oscillatory members supported adjacent tothe platform in a plane above the wheel carrying spindles, implementcarrying beams connected with the oscillatory members and extendingforwardly and rearwardly therefrom, cultivating implements connectedwith the beams and faced in opposite directions, and means connectedwith the rearwardly extending beams to vertically adjust the samethereby rocking the oscillatory members and effecting verticaladjustment in an opposite direction of the forwardly extending beams.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DELON H. ABBOTT.

Witnesses:

WVM. BAGGER, JOHN L. FLETCHER.

